In its issue of December 21, 2013 (as a sort of Christmas present), the German news magazine Der Spiegel carried a story by Manfred Dworschak, under the heading “Between Religion and Magic”. A better title, reflecting the bias of the story, might be “Religion as Magic”. It is the cover story of this issue (though it starts on page 112, which hardly signals an important topic). The picture on the cover indicates the approach: Religion and magic (or if you will, superstition) are treated as one comprehensive phenomenon. That is what I find interesting here.
The picture shows a young woman with folded hands and an aura around her head (perhaps the Madonna?), looking down on a black cat running by her. I was reminded of an episode I read about years ago: A group of American tourists were on a visit to the Soviet Union. They were shown around by a guide supplied by Intourist, the government agency which made sure that nobody strayed from the pre-arranged itinerary and which routinely reported to the secret police. As the group left the hotel, a black cat ran across its path. One of the tourists said, with a laugh: “A black cat. Perhaps we had better turn around?” The guide frowned thoughtfully, then said: “Oh, I see. You are religious.”
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